Assets Worth Tk 200 Million in Fake Returns

Md. Zahidul Islam
He registered as a taxpayer in 2022. Yet regular income tax returns had allegedly been filed in his name for five years before that. Despite the apparent impossibility, taxpayer Sadrul Hasan and his former wife Urmi Hasan allegedly carried out the fraud by influencing an employee of Tax Zone-5. An investigation by the Income Tax Intelligence and Investigation Unit has uncovered concealed assets and substantial tax evasion. The specialized unit of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has also seized FDRs worth Tk 260,771,578 in the names of four family members. Sources at Tax Zone-5 confirmed the information.

An investigation found that both Sadrul Hasan and Urmi Hasan are taxpayers under Circle 94 of Tax Zone-5. Sadrul’s Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is 890290670445, while Urmi’s TIN is 164431974097. Urmi’s TIN was issued on July 26, 2022. However, a return for the 2017-18 tax year was filed using this TIN on November 7, 2017. Returns for the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 tax years were shown as having been filed on November 19, 2018; November 20, 2019; November 26, 2020; and November 28, 2021, respectively. Thus, the same TIN was used in tax returns even before it was issued.

On the other hand, Sadrul’s returns for the 2016-17 through 2019-20 tax years do not bear the taxpayer’s signature. Under the rules, there is no provision for filing a return without a signature.

Former employees who had been working since 2017 were questioned to verify the matter. Subsequently, former Circle employee Gazi Aminul Islam admitted to the fraud. He stated that he entered Sadrul’s returns for the 2016-17 through 2021-22 tax years in blank spaces of the return register on November 23, 2021. He also entered Urmi’s returns for the 2016-17 through 2021-22 tax years in blank spaces of the return register in 2022. The investigation also found the involvement of a tax lawyer.

Under Section 272 of the Income Tax Act 2023, penalties may be imposed for tax evasion through the misrepresentation of material information relating to income, assets, liabilities, expenses or tax liability. The amount of the penalty is determined based on the amount of tax evaded and the time taken to detect the evasion.

Section 312 of the same Act states that intentionally attempting to evade tax, concealing income, providing false information regarding assets, liabilities or expenses, or taking such measures with the intention of avoiding tax payment constitutes a punishable offence. The provision carries a minimum sentence of six months and a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

In addition, Section 313 provides for imprisonment and a fine for knowingly submitting false accounts or statements. Therefore, a criminal case may also be filed over the alleged return fraud and concealment of assets. It is learnt that the concerned tax zone is considering filing a criminal case in this regard.

Crores of Taka in Bank Deposits Not Shown in Returns

Sadrul’s banking and financial information shows that substantial FDRs were held from the 2019-20 to 2025-26 tax years. In the 2019-20 tax year, FDRs worth Tk 118,897,468 were found; Tk 125,427,451 in 2020-21; Tk 143,009,115 in 2021-22; Tk 137,077,313 in 2022-23; Tk 141,543,900 in 2023-24; Tk 142,969,191 in 2024-25; and Tk 181,781,779 in 2025-26.

Funds were also found in other bank accounts apart from the FDRs. The investigation noted that these funds were also not disclosed in the income tax records. Urmi Hasan also allegedly concealed banking and financial information.

Tax Evasion Worth Tk 200 Million

Sadrul’s income from the 2019-20 to 2025-26 tax years amounted to Tk 368,494,974. Against this, tax evasion was calculated at Tk 112,253,457, with a penalty of Tk 56,974,313. The total amount owed to the government is Tk 169,227,770. Of this, Tk 74,171,403 relates to the 2022-23 tax year alone.

Urmi’s income in the 2023-24 tax year alone amounted to Tk 54,532,641. Against this, tax evasion was calculated at Tk 17,307,455, with a penalty of Tk 5,192,236. Her income in the 2024-25 tax year was Tk 5,935,666. Her total tax evasion for these two years stands at Tk 23,093,257.

Family’s FDRs Worth Tk 260.77 Million

Sadrul and his family members have FDRs worth a total of Tk 260,771,578. Of this, Tk 7,514,076 is in the name of Raisa Hasan, Tk 7,514,076 in the name of Parisa Hasan, Tk 34,186,934 in the name of Urmi Hasan, and Tk 211,556,492 in the name of Sadrul Hasan. The Income Tax Intelligence unit has seized all of these FDRs.

Officials from the Income Tax Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that one employee has reportedly admitted responsibility. However, it needs to be investigated whether it was possible for him to record all these returns alone, or whether the entries were made with the approval of the officials responsible for the concerned circle. At the same time, it should also be investigated whether the tax lawyer knew about the preparation of the fake returns.

The investigation should also examine how the signatures and filing information contained in the records were verified and whether any officials detected these discrepancies when accepting the returns.

Repeated attempts were made to contact taxpayers Sadrul Hasan and Urmi Hasan by phone to obtain their comments on the alleged fraud, but they did not answer the calls.